Most Read Game News of 2016

From PS4 and Xbox One compatibility to the explosion of Pokemon Go, here's what you couldn't get enough of in 2016

With 2017 fast-approaching, we like to take a step back and look at gaming trends from the year that was. To that end, we've compiled a list of the 20 most read stories on GameSpot from January through the end of November. While it was impossible to explore the internet and not hear about Pokemon Go at some point or to read all of the leaked console speculation leading into E3, our list is just as interesting for what it doesn't include. In particular, the major VR platforms all officially launched this year, but no stories about them cracked made it onto our top list.

Keep reading to see our most-popular stories counting down to number one.

While its unclear whether Disney will take any action against the developer, Steam has agreed to host the fan project Star Wars Battlefront 3: Galaxy in Turmoil. The game is still up on the Steam store as of this writing, so there's at least a possibility there'll be another non-official Battlefront game for fans to play next year.

16) 2016 Presidential Candidates Reimagined as Pokemon

Regardless of what side of the political fence you sit on, we can all agree that Pokemon versions of politicians are the best versions. [Read the full story.]

15) This Fallout 4 Mod Adds Gorgeous Cel-Shaded Graphics

If you wanted to give Fallout a Borderlands-style makeover, than this is the mod for you. [Read the full story.]

14) Family Guy Used NES Game Footage From YouTube, Then Claimed Copyright on Same Video

An episode of the Fox show Family Guy used a gameplay clip showing an exploit in the NES game Double Dribble, however, that clip was originally taken from YouTube user sw1tched. But after the TV show aired, Fox issued a copyright takedown on the original YouTube video. While the mixup was quickly rectified and was likely done through an automated system looking for duplicate content, it was still a bizarre scenario that highlights an ongoing issue with copyright and video game content on sharing sites like YouTube. [Read the full story.]

12) All the News From Microsoft's E3 2016 Press Conference

Highlights from this year's press conference included new hardware announcements (both the Xbox One S and Project Scorpio) and details on Sea of Thieves, Scalebound, Dead Rising 4, and State of Decay 2. [Read the full story.]

9) All the News From Sony's E3 2016 Press Conference

While it didn't include a look at Sony's new console, the PlayStation press conference did give us a first look at upcoming titles such as God of War, Insomniac's Spider-Man game, Days Gone, Death Stranding, and Horizon: Zero Dawn. [Read the full story.]

8) Battlefield 1 Beta, Other EA Games' Server Issues Ironed Out

Battlefield 1's beta apparently did its job well. While there were some early issues with connectivity in the game that were quickly ironed out prior to launch, the official start of the game was relatively smooth. [Read the full story.]

7) Pokemon Go: All the Known Issues Here

Pokemon Go was a global phenomenon this year. It was hard to go out in public and not find groups of people playing the game, however, the launch was also beset by a bevy of bugs. [Read the full story.]

6) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Being Remade in Unreal Engine 4

From a legal standpoint, it's better to think of this fan project as a mod rather than a reimagining, but this update to the classic game will allow you to play in first-person mode and with updated visuals. The game will be free when it releases and is still in active development. [Read the full story.]

FFXV is an epic adventure with lots to like, but it's the attention to graphical detail that really stands out. The food in the game looks so good, it's hard to distinguish some shots from reality. [Read the full story.]

3) Here's How to Request New Pokemon Go PokeStops and Gyms

Pokemon Go continues to maintain crazy momentum, but when it launched, one of the biggest questions was about how to create new gyms and PokeStops. [Read the full story.]

2) PS4 Pro: Specs, Release Date, and Price Confirmed

Details of both Sony and Microsoft's next console iterations leaked early in the year, and just before E3 Sony said it officially had a new console in the works. But it took a long time before we got to finally see what had been unofficially dubbed the PS4.5. As expected, the PS4 Pro wasn't a complete reinvention of Sony's console--instead it offered upgraded graphical and processing capability, supplementing rather than supplanting the standard PS4. [Read the full story.]

1) Sony Responds to Microsoft's Invite to Connect Xbox One and PS4 Networks